Confederate Monument Position Paper

US History

Confederate Monument Position Paper Assignment

Confederate monuments are widely distributed across the states of the US, mostly in the south.  After the white nationalist rally turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia in the summer of 2017 there was a renewed interest in the Confederate monuments and what they represent.  A large movement fought to have them taken down and several have been taken down since, yet not without controversy.  Your job in this position paper is to:

1.         Describe the controversy, explain the history of the monuments being erected (60 Minutes Video)

2.       Explain the arguments on each side (taking them down and keeping them up).  Address the question, is there any “danger” (meaning historically) to removing these monuments?

3.       Develop a thesis:  Yes the Civil War monuments should be removed.  Or, no these Civil War Monuments should not be removed. 

4.      Support your thesis with evidence

5.       Bonus:  If these monuments represents honoring people who fought a bloody war in the defense of the evil institution of slavery, should we take it a step further and outlaw the Confederate Flag?

Nuts and Bolts:

·         Paper must be typed, MLA format, 1 inch margin, Times New Roman 12 Font

·         Use in-text citations

·         Provide a reference sheet

·         3-4 pages in length

Scoring Rubric

On Backside